At least 27 inmates were found dead by asphyxiation yesterday at Machala prison in Ecuador, following an armed riot earlier in the day that killed four others and left dozens injured.
Prison authorities confirmed that the 27 individuals “committed asphyxiation among themselves, which caused immediate death by suspension.” Forensic teams were deployed to verify the circumstances, with investigations ongoing to fully clarify the events.
The morning riot, which broke out around 3 a.m. local time (8 a.m. GMT), saw residents of Machala, a city in Ecuador’s El Oro province, hear gunfire, explosions, and cries for help from within the prison walls.
Ecuador’s SNAI prison authority reported that in addition to the 27 asphyxiation deaths, four inmates died during the riot and 33 prisoners along with one police officer were injured. Elite police units intervened to regain control of the facility.
Ecuadoran prisons have increasingly become battlegrounds for rival drug-trafficking gangs, with more than 500 inmates killed in past clashes over control of the illicit trade. The recent unrest is believed to be connected to plans to transfer some inmates to a newly constructed maximum-security prison in another province, set to open this month under President Daniel Noboa’s administration.
This incident follows a similar armed confrontation at Machala prison in September, which claimed the lives of 13 inmates and a prison official.
